10 Reasons Why You Should Trek to Everest Base Camp

Considered to be one of the most thrilling adventures in the world, a trek to Everest Base Camp brings you face-to-face with the world’s highest peak – Mount Everest. A journey that begins at Nepal’s capital city of Kathmandu is probably one of the most sought adventure among the trekking community. Perched at an altitude of 5,380 m (17,600 ft), people from all across the globe venture out on an arduous journey to complete the Everest Base Camp Trek. From experiencing the Sherpa cultures to coming across landscapes that will make you feel minuscule, this trail is most definitely the grandest trek that you can do in the Himalayan region.

Everest Base Camp: Here are 10 Reasons Why You MUST Do it this year:

1. The Flight to Lukla!

The trail to Everest Base Camp starts from Lukla, a small town that is a 40-minute plane ride away from Kathmandu. The highlight of the first stretch of the journey is the flight to Lukla. To begin with, you start the journey with great views that boast the magnificence of the Eastern Himalayas and the change in topography as you leave Kathmandu and enter the foothills of the greater Himalayas. This ride stops at the Lukla Airport also known as Tenzing Hillary Airport. The best part here is that the airport is situated on top of a cliff with a humongous drop downwards at the end of the runway. The ride is considered to be an adventure in itself.

2. You get to explore the Sagarmatha National Park

This trek goes through the UNESCO World Heritage Site – Sagarmatha National Park and is one of the major highlights of this trek. The trail is steeped within the Himalayan protected area and gives splendid views of various mighty 8,000ers and other peaks in the region! The National park is also home to many endangered species of Animals that include – Musk Deer, Snow Leopard, Yaks, Himalayan Tahr, Himalayan Goral, and other creatures. As for fauna, the region is abundantly blessed with trees like Birch, Juniper, Blue Pine, Firs, Bamboo and Rhododendrons. Having said that, you will also notice a change in the terrain as you attain an altitude of 5,000+ meters as plans cease to grow here. Trekking through the Sagarmatha region can be best described as a walk through some of the best landscapes that nature has to offer that adds more highlight to your journey to Everest Base Camp.

3. Discover the beauty of Namche Bazaar

You get to trek to the extremely scenic town of Namche Bazaar. Also known as the “Gateway to the Himalayas in Nepal”, this little quaint town boasts of magnificent views of Kongdi RI, the Thamserku and of course- the Everest from its step-like terrains. The topography of Namche Bazaar is also perfect for trekkers to acclimatize and is also considered to be a great tourism spot in the Khumbu region. Historically, Namche Bazaar was a path of a trade route between Nepal and Tibet where salt, dried meat, and textiles were exchanged.

4. Be awed by the Sherpa Culture

Get up close with the Sherpa Culture of Nepal. The Khumbu region is said to have the highest population of Sherpa’s in the world. The EBC trek gives you a great opportunity to interact with these people of the Himalayas who are an inspiration to the trekkers across the world. The Sherpa people are also famous for their ability to adapt to the harsh and extreme conditions of the higher altitude regions. They are brave, adventurous and amazingly kind. While their culture is influenced a lot from Tibetan culture, they have a way of making you feel at home.

5. Meet people who’ve summitted Mt. Everest & other like-minded adventure-loving Nomads

Some of the people you meet along the way and some of the guides that you interact with would have summitted the world’s highest peak several times. The beauty of trekking to Everest Base Camp lies in the diversity, not just in terrain and landscape, but also diversity in the people you meet along the route. When you trek with us to Everest Base Camp, we ensure that your stay is at teahouses and not tent or camping stays. This gives you a chance to meet and interact with like-minded Nomads from all walks of life, from all across the globe who will also be put up at these teahouses.

6. You enter the land of Stupas

Welcome to the land of Stupas. This trek will take you on a spiritual journey with its hundreds and thousands of Stupas & monasteries that adorn the trail. One of the popular & revered monasteries you get to visit is the Tengboche Monastery during the trek.

FACT: Tengboche is the terminus site of the “Sacred Sites Trail Project” of the Sagarmatha National Park that attracts large number of tourists for trekking and mountaineering. It is a circular trail that covers 10 monasteries in a clockwise direction before terminating at the Tengboche Monastery. All the trekkers and climbers go to monastery to pray and seek to get blessings by the Buddhist monks before proceeding further up.

7. Everest Base Camp. Period!

The Everest Base Camp is definitely undoubtedly the biggest highlight of the trek, marking the final destination or end to the 13-day journey. The overwhelming feeling of pride and a sense of achievement that you feel when you reach base camp cannot be put in words. Standing under the shadow of Mount Everest, the magnitude of the moment will make the hard work worth it.

8. Killer Sunrise at Kala Patthar

The Killer sunrise from Kala Patthar you see the morning after you trek to Everest Base Camp will blow your mind away. To see the sun rise from the shoulders of Mount Everest would be the best sunrises you would ever see in your entire life!

9. The insane views of Mount Everest

While the main highlight of the Everest Base Camp trek is the view of the mighty Mount Everest, this journey also gives you some of the best views of breathtaking panoramas of Khumbu Himalayan region which cannot be found anywhere else on the planet! All throughout the trek, the trekkers are constantly in the company of giant mountain peaks of the Everest massif, which include many prominent peaks like Lhotse, the Cho Oyu, Ama Dablam as well as Mount Everest itself along with many more. Similarly, the famous Khumbu Icefall is also part of the sight as trekkers reach the base camp. The blue skyline decorated with the glowing white Everest peaks that pierce the sky are sights that are fascinating to see and wonderful to behold. They are really breath-taking and give off a sense of awe with their colossal size and enormity.

10. The Everest Base Camp Trek makes you choose fitness as your lifestyle

Trekking to Everest Base Camp requires Nomads to be extremely fit. Some even start their journey to get fit 6-4 months before the trek. As the terrain has a combination of steep ridges at above 5,000m, crossing long scary suspension bridges, braving sub-zero temperatures and battling altitude sickness – this is no easy feat, even for fit people! You will never know your body’s limits till you push yourself and before you know it, you would have made fitness a part of your lifestyle.

If you wish to be a part of this grand adventure in April 2020, click here.